CONFERENCE PACKET

In the past I have always given the primary children in our ward an activity packet to work on during conference. I have created them myself using activities in the friend and coloring pictures. This year however, I found an amazing packet. If you want one for your children go here:
http://www.sugardoodle.info/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5851

It is really well done. I hope the primary children will find it helpful this year and maybe you will too!

GIRL TROUBLES

This little girl is having friend troubles. I can hardly keep up. Everyday someone else is mad and won't play in their group. She used to play with different friends and the drama was kept at a minimum, now with a different group it is girl drama central. I can't help but cringe. I don't know what to do. It brings back terrible memories from my past and a friend who decided that we couldn't be friends any more. Past girls being mean and selfish.

Apparently she used to play with a different group and has a really good friend there, but the other girls thought she was a bit weird (as she puts it) so she doesn't play with them anymore. She says they won't even look at her when they pass by. My heart aches. I wish I could make it all better. Who couldn't love this kind hearted little lady?

This year hasn't gone so well for her. A new class with no friends in it. A new class with some old friends from a class a few years ago, that now have new friends and don't want to play at recess. I wish that she had some friends who share her same values. I wish that she had a really good friend down the street to laugh with a giggle with after school. I wish she had someone to sit by her every lunch and recess and laugh with her. I feel sad when she tells me she spent her lunch time in the library reading books (although I have nothing against reading books).

It just brings back the wounds that are still a bit fresh for me. Girls can be so mean sometimes. The sad thing is, it doesn't change when you are a mom either. Girls are still mean sometimes. They still say means things. They still look at you as in judgment. They still can make you feel worthless. I wish I could make it all better. I guess this is how we learn and grow - watching our children struggle as we did, and not knowing what to do.

PACKAGES!

I love packages – well who doesn’t right?

This week I have gotten two.  That’s even better!

Thanks to my sister Julie I have now watched “Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs” twice and gotten my Butterfinger fix!!!

Then a few days later another package arrived.  Inside were some goodies I created.  To see my work printed was nice.   These are some of my first pages I ever did digitally.  I thought about redoing some of them – they aren’t so good I admit, but admittedly I do not have the time.  I did go through and fix up the shadows and clean up a bit.  All the pages are of Rylee.  I feel so bad.  She has a book that has maybe half a dozen pages in it.  Now she has a whole lot more.  I used a relatively new company:  Persnickety Prints   I was so impressed.  The quality was excellent.  No washed out colors.  They are located in Orem, Utah for those of you who live close by you can actually go pick them up and save yourself some shipping costs.  I happened to get a coupon for a discount in shipping costs, but $10 for international shipping isn’t bad.  It cost them $15 to send it.   I am totally going to use them again and soon!!!!

Rylee has been enjoying her book.  She used to look at the half a dozen pages in her book before and loved it – now imagine all the fun she is having.   It is so fun to see how much she has grown. 

GOOD AS NEW!

I have always wanted to do this project.  Taking old broken crayons and turning them into something lovely and new.  We have many broken crayons around here, and I have been a doing a bit of “spring cleaning,” so I thought now would be a good time to try this out. 

Rylee was my helper one day.

It’s simple.  You take your old crayons and take off all the paper.  Then place them into molds and cook at a low temperature until they melt. 

If I was to do this again I probably would be more careful about what colors went into each slot – but when you have a 2-year-old helping you get some fun colors mixed together.  More fun that way I suppose. 

FYI:  On some of mine appeared a waxy layer on the top.  With a bit of research I found that this may have been caused by washable crayons.

 

Take them out of the oven and let them cool down all the way.  Then you have new crayons to use!

Madi wants to sell these at our massive garage sale we will have when we finally move back home.  We were thinking maybe 5 or 10 cents a piece.  She thinks she will make a killing.  If not then her friends will get a nice gift when we leave!

I WAS BAD....

...last night I did something I knew I shouldn't.
Kev told me I was crazy and it would make me sad.
I was just curious so I went ahead and looked at houses for sale in Salt Lake County.
It did make me a little sad when I found one for a killer deal on a short sale.
What I really wanted to know was can we afford the house we want?
Everyone keeps telling me that house prices are cheap.
I wanted to see for myself.
THEY ARE!!!
I could not believe it.
The houses we were looking at we wouldn't have even considered three years ago.
Now all we need is a job offer.
I guess that is important isn't it?
Kev told me I am getting "trunky."
Maybe he is right.
I say I just want to see my mountains again and plant a garden.

BUCKET LIST

I had a challenge for a scrapbook page to do one with a bucket list of 50 things to do before I die. It was so hard for me. I have to be honest I have never made a bucket list before. I figure I will do things as they come up. There are a few things that I have always wanted to do, but the rest I had to really think about.
I encourage you all to do the same.
What do you want to do before you die?

MORE THOUGHTS

I did not write my previous post to try and get some sort of recognition on what a good mother I am - although it was appreciated thanks for all your messages!

I did not write it to compare my feelings and problems with what anyone else is going through at this time. There is nothing to compare. We are all at different stages with different kids.

I did not write it to make myself look good. I have so much to learn.

I wrote it to present to you a journey that I think we all go through as mothers. We are all trying our hardest. We all make mistakes. The key is to learn from those mistakes and when we learn to do better we should change.

I wrote it to remind myself later that I am trying my best. Sometimes that means I have to reevaluate and change some things to become even better.

I do not think that it is a bad thing to talk to other mothers or to read their experiences. I can learn from those around me. I can take the good and see if it will fit into my life and I can make this motherhood experience better for me and for my children. I did find myself comparing myself too much. That is where the danger comes in. When we talk to other mothers and we try to get advice we cannot compare ourselves to them. We have to take their advice and tweek it to fit our needs and most importantly the needs of our children.

For example. I have a huge routine at my house. We eat around the same time everyday. We get ready for bed in the same way. We have showers and baths on the same nights each week. We still have rest time - even though no one around here sleeps anymore. Rest time is sacred to me. I need it to recharge myself. To get somethings accomplished. When the kids are off school they still rest in their rooms for a few hours after lunch. They don't always like it. I know they are getting too big for it, but I need it. So I am going to do it as long as I can. For me this works. Routine, schedule, for me this is sanity. For others it is not. They don't like to be tied down. They like to be spontaneous. I know that this works for me. I can't live without it. For you figure out what works for you.

I know that there are mothers out there who struggle daily with problems I cannot imagine. I know that they are stronger than I will ever be. I can't imagine the problems that some face. I am not comparing me to them, but that doesn't make my concerns and my problems trivial. They are big concerns to me. We all are faced with trials in our lives. I truly believe that part of those trials is how we endure them.

I know that I will never have another chance to raise Madi as an 8 year old. I will never get to see Cooper in first grade again. I will never get to teach Rylee the things I am teaching her at 2 years old. Although I have had other 2-year-olds in this house - they have not been Rylee. They were different. There needs were different. Their personalities are different. I do not want to miss out on any of these phases. Not only that but I want to do my best. I can't get them back to redo later. I can't try again later to fix small problems. By then they are big ones.

I think that motherhood, if done correctly, is the hardest job on earth. As my father-in-law wrote me this weekend, "If Heavenly Father expected you to be perfect he would have given you a manual." Great advice John. So true. I am not expected to be perfect, but I am expected to do my best. That is all we can do.

Don't compare yourself to others.

Don't feel like you can't make it through whatever trial you might be facing as a mother.

Just learn from your mistakes and make changes that will improve not only your life, but the lives of your children.

Then spend the time to look for the rewards - what ever those may be. A hug and a kiss at night. A long talk with a child about their concerns and worries. There are rewards in the journey called motherhood and they are what I live for and what keep me trying to be better. Not just for me, but for my children.

MY THOUGHTS ON MOTHERHOOD

When I started this adventure I like to call motherhood eight years ago I had no true idea of where it would take me.  I had no idea that I would have so much love to give and that my heart could break so many times.   I had no idea that I would not always have the right answer or react in the correct way.  I had no idea that I would get so little sleep and still be able to function (barely) without it.  I had no idea that I could doubt myself so much.

I have been feeling like a terrible mother as of late.  I read many blogs out there of these amazing women who seem to have it all under control.  They always have the right answers.  They always seem to be doing something creative with their children and taking them fun places.  I do realize that people only put the “good” stuff on their blogs, but still it makes me feel like I am not doing something right.  We do not paint, color, and craft every day around here – I don’t have the patience for it.  I hate to clean it all up.   When I do get it all out we have a blast and I love to see my kids be creative, I am trying to do it more.  My goal is to have a craft day with Rylee twice a week.   Does that mean I am not doing my job properly?

When you are feeling like you aren’t doing something right that means that you should sit down and ponder why you are feeling that way.  At least that’s what I think.  So I have spent the last few months thinking about the kind of mother I am and what needs to be improved.  I have talked with many other mothers and listened in on conversations at play dates.  I think we all feel the same.  We are all wondering if we are doing this job right.  It isn’t like there is a instruction manual given to us with each kid.  It would be easier if the things you figured out with child #1 worked the same with child #2 and #3.   I wonder daily if I am making the right decisions for my kids.  If I am teaching them the things that I should.  If I have done enough to pass on the knowledge that I do have. 

I want my kids to be independent.  I want them to be good people who think about others before themselves.  I want them to love the Gospel as much as I do.  I want them to love their family and want to be with us forever.  I want them to know what it means to make good decisions and to face the consequences when they do not.  I want them to know that their best is good enough.  I want them to love books.  I want them to find their own passions.  I want them to be grateful for what they have.  I want them to feel loved.  I want them to know their Savior. 

I guess what I have realized is that most of the time I feel like I am failing and haven’t made the right decisions, but I just have to do the best I know how at the time.  When I learn something new and a better way then I need to chance what I am doing and  improve.  No every day around here isn’t perfect.  Sometimes there is a bit of yelling.  Sometimes there is a bit of stubbornness.  Sometimes I don’t make all the right decisions.   I am trying. 

Then I have moments where I see the fruits of my labors.  Someone comments on how kind my kids are to others.  I see them find something they truly enjoy doing – even if I had to force gentle push them into doing it.  When they have their own spiritual moments and the Spirit just shines through them.  When a little voice says to me, “Mom, you are my best friend!  I love you!”  Someone tells me how well adjusted my kids seem to be.  I see them run off to their first day of school without looking back.  When I hear their answers in Primary.  When I get a huge hug and know that this person loves me even if I didn’t make all the right decisions that day.   Then for a simple moment I realize that I am not doing it all wrong.  I am doing some things right.  Doing creative things with them everyday and taking them fun places all the time just isn’t my way of doing this little job I like to call motherhood.  It isn’t my journey.  My journey is different, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

PING PONG ACTION

What happens when a little boy finds a ping pong ball in his room and gets an idea?

He gets his dad to help and they come up with a creative plan

1. Homemade ping pong paddles – good thing for some old cardboard boxes

2. The kitchen table with a pillow net

3. A fun Sunday afternoon!

4. What a smart little boy and his daddy!

Who needs a proper ping pong table and paddles? Not us!